Harrison Gevirtz, Interview with a Teen Entrepreneur

By: Michael Dunlop     Topics: Blog

Amazing young entrepreneur Harrison Gervirtz shares some of his secrets to success online. Essential reading for all young entrepreneurs!

Hi Harrison

Thank you for doing this interview. I have been following you for some time now and I have to say every time I hear anything about you I am more and more impressed. This is a young entrepreneurs website – but I have to keep reminding myself just how young you are. I can only imagine what you will be doing when you get to age 21!

First off – can we have a little background information on Harrison – Where you live? How old you are? What motivates you? What inspires you?
I currently live in Santa Barbara California but I travel around the world all the time! I really don’t have one specific thing that motivates me. I just like what I do and that’s really it! I do not play music but listening to music inspires me a lot and helps me get through the day. Last month, I turned 16 years old which isn’t really all that cool yet since I still don’t have my license yet :/!

1) You have recently been making quite a name for yourself with your website: http://www.cpashare.com – tell us about the site and what your goals are for it?
Cpashare is a blog that I setup over a year ago, I started out blogging about various marketing techniques and have changed the tone of my blog to mainly stuff relating to pay per click marketing. I also like to throw in posts here and there about my travels too! In terms of goals, I really don’t have any since my blog is not for making money… It’s just a way for me to hook people up with a good tip every once and a while, no catch ;)!

2) I have been reading your Bio and you started online at a very early age. How old were you when you first started to make money online and what was you did to make that money?

I first started to earn a living online when I was around 12 years old. I sold diamonds & coins on Ebay and Overstock Auctions. It was a successful venture until eBay banned me for no reason. Following the eBay business I started a turnkey website and made quick cash from various revenue streams. After realizing that the Affiliate Industry had tremendous opportunity I eventually learned about all kinds of Arbitrage, including Pay-Per-Click, Media Buying, Brokering Various Deals, Etc. I have recently spent some time to get involved with ppc outside of the affiliate world, By doing Pay-per-click for local businesses @ BlitzLocal.com

3) With your success – what has been your biggest challenges and how have you overcome them? (Have you had any issues with Networks because of your age)

I have run into problems, both early on when I was just getting into the industry & recently (Like last week). Some networks refuse to do business with me because of my age. It really bothers me and I tend to take it personally. Since I don’t do anything against the rules, I think the “liability” that networks claim I can be is complete B.S.

4) For someone new to Affiliate Marketing (a publisher) – who wished to become a successful affiliate, is there anything in particular that you would suggest that they do not do?

Some beginner affiliates tend to go in over their head when they start out. They do this by spending to much time on little things and not just launching the campaign! A Quick Do-Not-Do Tip would be to not spend to much putting emphasis on just one part of a campaign. Make sure you focus on all the aspects of a campaign: The Offer, Your Landing Page, Ads, Keywords, Bids, Negative Keywords, CTR, Conversion Rates, & Tracking/Analytics.

5) And for someone new to Affiliate Marketing – can you give us two or three top tips for getting started? Are there any particular Niches that have historically done well – even for Newbies and are there any new niches that are particularly “hot” at present.

Every niche can do well, You just have to target the right people. It can take a search engine marketer months to find those specific people, But when you do, It pays off. Some niche’s I have seen do well from personal experience, Or just seen friends do very well with are: Dating, Refi, Credit Reports, Downloads, Mobile Offers, E-mail Submits, Legit Direct Response type offers like eBay.

6) You appear to be quite the expert at PPC – can you give us some quick tips for getting started in PPC – or any excellent resources where people can go to learn more?

Something that I spent the time and completed when I was learning about PPC was go through the google learning center. Although it only provides information in a very jaded non-affiliate manner you will learn in the way that google interprets its platform, which can help you as an affiliate down the road. In addition to the google Learning Center, I recommend the book: Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions By Tim Ash (It’s on Amazon). This book was referred to me by a good friend of mine & I really like the tips this book provides, I learned a lot from it!

7) Looking at your website, it appears you travel a lot. Has this been with business? What is the best place you have visited so far and why?
I travel a lot for business. Recently, the small-business pay per click stuff has taken me all over the country. I also have taken some trips out of the country for fun. The coolest place I’ve been this year is Tokyo! I really enjoyed it a lot & enjoyed how happy and respectful the Japanese culture was. I can’t wait to go back! I am also going to India in a few weeks which will soon probably take over as the coolest trip this year!

8) Do you have any favourite business related or personal development related books that you can recommend to other entrepreneurs?

The book I referenced above is a great book: Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions. In addition to the book, The Tipping point is a book which I really enjoyed and see as a book that has helped my business.

9) What is the best advice you have ever been given?

I have been thrashed around in this industry because of my age. As simple and tacky as it sounds I have been told to “Not give up” and “Keep trying” numerous times from people that believe in me. I see these to quick lines as true pieces of advice.

10) What advice would you give to a Teen Entrepreneur starting their first make money website?

Don’t hire your friends. I have friends ask me for ways to make money & jobs all the time. I don’t like to get my friends involved because it usually ends bad. When I just started out online I would get friends involved & they usually just wasted my time and money :x!

11) In the longer term how do you see your business developing? Do you for example have any plans to teach your skills or to do PPC work on behalf of other businesses:

This is happening now with Blitzlocal.com. I still spend time on affiliate marketing but I have been putting more & more time into legitimate small & corporate pay per click marketing.

12) What do you like best about the Internet?

The amount of available opportunity on the web is just phenomenal. For someone to be able to run a successful business online @ a young or old age is just unbelievable .. isn’t it? Even if you have been trying to find a way to make money online and it hasn’t worked out, do NOT give up; There are hundreds of thousands of opportunities and methods to make money on a computer/online. Just wait for the opportunity.

13) What do you like least about the Internet?

Some Russian spammer that has been getting into my inbox for the past month. I’m getting sick of it.

14) Have you any plans (personal or business) that you can share with us about your future plans / goals / lifetime goals? (What are your goals for when you reach age 21)

I know that when I’m 18, I want to move somewhere outside of the USA. I tend to live in the moment and not think that far ahead so I can stay as focused as possible with what I am doing now.

Visit Harrison’s blog at http://www.cpashare.com where he shares his unique and entertaining insight into Internet marketing.